Brandi Tyler is a divorced mother of two children who is on the list to move into the Huntington Housing Authority’s new Artisan Heights condominiums on 28th Street in June.
Her children are her top priority in moving to Huntington from Lesage, W.Va., where she rents a home provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
She said she was reluctant at first about the new location for her children because the condos are close to 16th Street, which has a negative connotation of violence and drugs. However, she decided it was a good place to live after she visited the condominiums.
“It’s like a neighborhood in that area,” Tyler said. “I liked them because they were brand new and because of the amount of space upstairs and downstairs. Right now I’m on a one-floor plan.”
Tyler commutes 30 minutes twice a day, five days a week to Chesapeake, Ohio where her 6-year-old is enrolled at Chesapeake Elementary, but if she moves to Artisan Heights, her drive would be cut to just six minutes. It would also cut her commute to Marshall University where she is a senior elementary education major.
Artisan Heights is just another step in Tyler’s path to becoming a teacher and being able to raise her children in a good environment while she is at school. It wouldn’t have been possible without the project being partly funded by a $2.17 million grant under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. This program is part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package under the Emergency Assistance for Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Houses.
The money will be split among three projects. Artisan Heights will get $966,000, a single family two-bedroom home on Artisan Avenue will receive $65,000 and the Historic Barnett Apartments on Seventh Avenue will get $928,952. The rest of the money, about $200,000, will go toward administration fees to make sure the money is spent correctly, said Bill Dotson, executive director of the Housing Authority. The authority entered into an agreement with the state of West Virginia, which will govern the administration and use of the grant.
The grant made it clear that funds need to be spent by March 2013, but in the authority’s January meeting, the staff said they would have the money expended by the end of 2010. To make this goal happen, the authority chose sites that Dotson called “shovel ready.” These are places that were already starting to be developed or were ready to start. Artisan Heights, the home on Artisan Avenue and the Historic Barnett Apartments fit that description.
The single family home on Artisan Avenue was selected because the city designated its location as a blighted area. This means the area is run down and the city wanted to put extra resources into it, Dotson said. The authority will buy the structure for $10,000 and refurbish it for $55,000.
Dotson also chose this particular site because it’s a “shotgun house.”
“It’s unique to Huntington in that it is very narrow and very long, which was an old method of building on narrow lots,” he said.
The Historic Barnett Apartments, which will include three two-bedroom units and six one-bedroom units, was chosen for renovation because it is a historic black hospital. The apartments will be used to house the chronic homeless. Dotson said the area is perfect for that purpose because it is down the street from the Huntington City Mission, which offers services to the needy.
Artisan Heights will mainly house low-income families making 30 to 60 percent of the city’s $46,000 median income, Dotson said. The grant specified that no less than 25 percent of the funds could be used to house people whose total income did not exceed 50 percent of the area’s median income.
About 49,500 people live in Huntington and 40 percent make below the $46,000 median income, Dotson said.
“We are a poor town,” he said. “There’s no trouble right now finding people to fill empty units. It’s always been like that since I became involved in 1985. There’s plenty of need out there.”
Section Eight is the authority’s subsidy program where money is administered to private landlords who rent to low income people. The authority’s Section Eight waiting list has more than 1,600 people.
Another waiting list is for public housing and has about 600 people, Dotson said. This list is for units that are owned by the authority.
People qualify for these lists in three categories, he said. Individuals or families can be low income, which is making 80 percent of the city’s median income, very low income, which is making 50 percent, or extremely low income, which is making 30 percent. For a four-person family, this means making $38,000 per year for the low-income category, making $24,000 for very low income and $14,400 for extremely low income
These lists have been closed for three years because Dotson said he doesn’t want to add more people and give them false hope. Individuals already on the list have a waiting time of at least three years. Dotson said it would raise people’s hopes if they were put on the waiting list because then they would expect to be moved into a new place soon, but that just wouldn’t be the case.
Artisan Heights will take people off the Section Eight waiting list and put them into 22 large family units. The three-bedroom apartments will cost $635 in rent per month and the four-bedroom units will cost $645 per month. The low-income families will only have to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. The authority will provide subsidy for the rest of the cost.
“There are very little four bedroom units being built in this town, if any,” Dotson said. “I think we’re the only ones.”
Once families move into the condominiums, authority staff will talk to them about developing a strategy of finding work to improve their lives now that they don’t have to worry about finding a place to sleep. The units only serve as temporary places for people to begin to provide for themselves and integrate back into working society, Dotson said.
“We’re about raising the quality of life of families,” Dotson said. “We don’t just provide bricks and mortar, but we require families to make self-sufficiency programs to start thinking about education and employment.”
The authority’s self-sufficiency program fits the goals of the state to revitalize targeted neighborhoods and reconnect those people with the economy, housing market and social networks, according to the grant’s documents.
Artisan Heights has had some trouble getting finished so far, Dotson said. The Housing Development Corporation, which is taking care of the development and management of the condominiums, has been behind on schedule because of this winter’s heavy snow. The site was to be completed late January or early February but is now slated for June or July. The Historic Barnett Apartments will be finished March or April 2011, and the single family home on Artisan Avenue will be started this summer and is slated to be finished December 2010.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Chapter 9 story about scams
A few little things have happened in my life where I’ve felt ripped off, cheated or defrauded. On a regular basis I receive e-mails telling me I’ve been left with a large sum of money from someone who died and left it to me in my will. I have received messages from people telling me I have somehow managed to be able to have millions of dollars wired into my bank account.
The perpetrators use good names for their e-mail subject lines so that I click on it and think it’s someone offering me a job or internship opportunity, or something like that. However, once I start reading the e-mail, the grammar is always very bad and that let’s me know right off the bat something is wrong. I also don’t trust these outlandish claims so I ignore them and delete them right away. I think if I really have that money coming to me, it’s going to reach me whether I answer the e-mail about it or not.
I read chapter 9 in the Investigative Journalism book. It said that reporters have multiple ways of finding out information about scammers and revealing who they are. Reporters can obtain information from their readers or viewers who call into the media about the scams they have bought into.
Many different organizations assist in alerting people about possible scammers or helping them in a case. The Better Business Bureau is one such organization. Others are attorneys, consumer advocates in government agencies and privately funded consumer protection organizations. Examples of these are special departments in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. There are also professional organizations of bankers and bill collectors who don’t want scammers hurting their businesses.
For my particular case with the fraudulent e-mails, I would go to the Better Business Bureau, which is aware of these kinds of problems. I would use the bureau’s archives to find other people in the area who may have complained about these e-mails. I would go to the National Consumers League to tap into its information center that has an Internet Fraud Watch, too.
Another thing I could do to find the perpetrators is to go undercover. I would go along a little bit with the e-mail scheme by replying to their first message. I would not give out any information, but I would record all the e-mails sent to me. Then I will write about these dealings.
The perpetrators use good names for their e-mail subject lines so that I click on it and think it’s someone offering me a job or internship opportunity, or something like that. However, once I start reading the e-mail, the grammar is always very bad and that let’s me know right off the bat something is wrong. I also don’t trust these outlandish claims so I ignore them and delete them right away. I think if I really have that money coming to me, it’s going to reach me whether I answer the e-mail about it or not.
I read chapter 9 in the Investigative Journalism book. It said that reporters have multiple ways of finding out information about scammers and revealing who they are. Reporters can obtain information from their readers or viewers who call into the media about the scams they have bought into.
Many different organizations assist in alerting people about possible scammers or helping them in a case. The Better Business Bureau is one such organization. Others are attorneys, consumer advocates in government agencies and privately funded consumer protection organizations. Examples of these are special departments in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. There are also professional organizations of bankers and bill collectors who don’t want scammers hurting their businesses.
For my particular case with the fraudulent e-mails, I would go to the Better Business Bureau, which is aware of these kinds of problems. I would use the bureau’s archives to find other people in the area who may have complained about these e-mails. I would go to the National Consumers League to tap into its information center that has an Internet Fraud Watch, too.
Another thing I could do to find the perpetrators is to go undercover. I would go along a little bit with the e-mail scheme by replying to their first message. I would not give out any information, but I would record all the e-mails sent to me. Then I will write about these dealings.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
SEC Reports assignment
Century Aluminum near Ravenswood, W.Va. had to close about a year ago for breach of contract. It used to be one of Jackson County’s largest employers, but now only has less than a dozen employees. When it was closing, it had operating losses of 8 million per month. Also, around the time of closing, a Tennessee barge company sued the plant for 4.6 million. The barge company stated that it was promised 400,000 tons of material to be shipped to it by Century Aluminum, but the number that was shipped was far less than that. The link for that story is http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=74882.
The link to documents on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Web site is http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&filenum=005-47307&owner=include&count=40.
I would develop these ideas into a news story by researching what exactly happened with the barge and century aluminum suit. I would see how much loss that the aluminum company suffered by looking at the SEC reports and then find out if this was enough reason to give the barge a smaller shipment than promised.
The link to documents on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Web site is http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&filenum=005-47307&owner=include&count=40.
I would develop these ideas into a news story by researching what exactly happened with the barge and century aluminum suit. I would see how much loss that the aluminum company suffered by looking at the SEC reports and then find out if this was enough reason to give the barge a smaller shipment than promised.
Proposal for nonprofit story
TO: Professor Morris
FROM: Emily Ayres
RE: The effect of the Great Recession on animals
SUBJECT: How the Humane Society of Parkersburg, Inc. is coping during the Great Recession
SCOPE: I will research the Humane Society’s financial expenses and distribution numbers and compare to previous years before the recession. I will ask what kind of changes have been made to adjust to the low economy of the Great Recession and what are the main causes for contribution money going down, if it did.
NEED: The Humane Society is a well-known charity and people need to know how well they are doing during this time and if they can still be relied upon for their services to animals.
METHODS: This story can be documented using the society’s financial statements and with information given by the officers in interviews.
SOURCES: I will be using Guidestar, the IRE Journal, my textbook and www.fourthestatethirdsector.blogspot.com. These sources will help me to know how to write a story reviewing the finances of a charity by giving me examples. These sources will also help me to ask the right questions and look for the correct information in the certain places it can be found. I will also use the Humane Society’s 990 forms and financial statements from the West Virginia Secretary of State
PRESENTATION: This will be an investigative story that will be blogged and presented to The Parthenon for possible publication.
FOLLOW-UP: Depending on the information I find, the story could lead to more blogs or publications.
FROM: Emily Ayres
RE: The effect of the Great Recession on animals
SUBJECT: How the Humane Society of Parkersburg, Inc. is coping during the Great Recession
SCOPE: I will research the Humane Society’s financial expenses and distribution numbers and compare to previous years before the recession. I will ask what kind of changes have been made to adjust to the low economy of the Great Recession and what are the main causes for contribution money going down, if it did.
NEED: The Humane Society is a well-known charity and people need to know how well they are doing during this time and if they can still be relied upon for their services to animals.
METHODS: This story can be documented using the society’s financial statements and with information given by the officers in interviews.
SOURCES: I will be using Guidestar, the IRE Journal, my textbook and www.fourthestatethirdsector.blogspot.com. These sources will help me to know how to write a story reviewing the finances of a charity by giving me examples. These sources will also help me to ask the right questions and look for the correct information in the certain places it can be found. I will also use the Humane Society’s 990 forms and financial statements from the West Virginia Secretary of State
PRESENTATION: This will be an investigative story that will be blogged and presented to The Parthenon for possible publication.
FOLLOW-UP: Depending on the information I find, the story could lead to more blogs or publications.
Proposal for Housing Authority story (last major project)
To: Professor Morris
From: Emily Ayres
Subject: Investigating the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is a grant from the state of West Virginia to the Huntington Housing Authority. It will give the authority $2.177 million to rehabilitate or newly construct 32 units. The structures will have an impact for the work the Housing Authority tries to do in providing affordable housing for the residents of Huntington. The units will be at Artisan Height, Artisan Avenue and Seventh Avenue. These units will be for low-income families to privately own, the chronic homeless and for public housing. The Artisan Height and Artisan Avenue structures are under the Project Based Section A, which is to take people off waiting lists and to provide housing for 32 people who didn’t have a place to live before. The funds for the grant need to be spent within three years but the Housing Authority said the funds will be used by the end of 2010.
Scope: I will research how exactly all this money is going to be spent, especially when the authority says it will be expended by the end of 2010. I am in contact with Executive Director Bob Dotson who will give me information on the exact structures being involved in this project and how many people it will help. I also want to get in contact with a few individuals who will be moving into these structures.
Need: People need to know if the authority will be spending this money correctly and if the money is being put to efficient use so it can help as much people as possible.
Methods: This story can be documented with interviews of main staff of the Housing Authority and individual low-income families who will be involved in moving into the houses. I have to find out when work is actually beginning on the project and how the authority keeps record of its actions so the state knows it is using the money correctly.
Sources: Information can be had from the record of the grant sent by the state and interviews of Bob Dotson and other people.
Presentation: This will be an investigative story that will be blogged and presented to The Parthenon for possible publication.
Follow-up: There is a possibility for future stories while this project is continuing
and the structures are being built.
From: Emily Ayres
Subject: Investigating the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is a grant from the state of West Virginia to the Huntington Housing Authority. It will give the authority $2.177 million to rehabilitate or newly construct 32 units. The structures will have an impact for the work the Housing Authority tries to do in providing affordable housing for the residents of Huntington. The units will be at Artisan Height, Artisan Avenue and Seventh Avenue. These units will be for low-income families to privately own, the chronic homeless and for public housing. The Artisan Height and Artisan Avenue structures are under the Project Based Section A, which is to take people off waiting lists and to provide housing for 32 people who didn’t have a place to live before. The funds for the grant need to be spent within three years but the Housing Authority said the funds will be used by the end of 2010.
Scope: I will research how exactly all this money is going to be spent, especially when the authority says it will be expended by the end of 2010. I am in contact with Executive Director Bob Dotson who will give me information on the exact structures being involved in this project and how many people it will help. I also want to get in contact with a few individuals who will be moving into these structures.
Need: People need to know if the authority will be spending this money correctly and if the money is being put to efficient use so it can help as much people as possible.
Methods: This story can be documented with interviews of main staff of the Housing Authority and individual low-income families who will be involved in moving into the houses. I have to find out when work is actually beginning on the project and how the authority keeps record of its actions so the state knows it is using the money correctly.
Sources: Information can be had from the record of the grant sent by the state and interviews of Bob Dotson and other people.
Presentation: This will be an investigative story that will be blogged and presented to The Parthenon for possible publication.
Follow-up: There is a possibility for future stories while this project is continuing
and the structures are being built.
Student Government Association minutes reviewed
In the Sept. 8 meeting of the Student Government Association, student organization funding requests were reviewed by the student Senate. In the story written from the meeting the reporter wrote about the student Senate still being inexperienced early in the semester. It was reported that Joseph Stone, senate advisor, and Steve Hensley, dean of student affairs, advised the Senate on how to review the organizational forms correctly.
All of this information is stated in the minutes. The story focused on one organization in particular, the Biology Club. It failed to mention however, how much money ended up being allotted to that club. That would have been good to include in the story. The budgeted amount for the club was included in the minutes and it said it was approved and sent to the finance committee for further review.
Another thing that wasn’t included in the story was that the finance committee was asked to meet after the meeting to discuss the recently approved bills. The story said there was heated debate over student fee fund distribution, but never said what was stated in the minutes.
Also, another interesting point in the section of old business stated that allocation of $1,000 to Delta Chi Fraternity was still under review. It would have been good for the reporter to find out more about this topic because Delta Chi was potentially receiving double what the other organizations were listed getting. The readers should know why Delta Chi is asking for so much money.
All of this information is stated in the minutes. The story focused on one organization in particular, the Biology Club. It failed to mention however, how much money ended up being allotted to that club. That would have been good to include in the story. The budgeted amount for the club was included in the minutes and it said it was approved and sent to the finance committee for further review.
Another thing that wasn’t included in the story was that the finance committee was asked to meet after the meeting to discuss the recently approved bills. The story said there was heated debate over student fee fund distribution, but never said what was stated in the minutes.
Also, another interesting point in the section of old business stated that allocation of $1,000 to Delta Chi Fraternity was still under review. It would have been good for the reporter to find out more about this topic because Delta Chi was potentially receiving double what the other organizations were listed getting. The readers should know why Delta Chi is asking for so much money.
Huntington budget story
The Huntington City Council made an additional $867,000 in cuts in the adopted 2011 fiscal budget. Scott Caserta, city councilman from District 7 said the Council is leaving the decision as to the details of those cuts to Mayor Kim Wolfe.
The motor pool and floodwall divisions will likely receive the most in cuts with motor pool having an estimated decrease of $155,596 from its $653,036 proposed budget and floodwall having a cut of $120,345 from its proposed $648,677, according to the City of Huntington.
The City Council is aware that most of the cuts have the possibility of resulting in layoffs in 10 departments and 20-day furloughs for city employees. The Council made sure, however, that the police and fire departments will be exempt from any furloughs or layoffs, Caserta said. Police and fire originally had cuts in the mayor’s proposed budget in February, but the Council decided to put money back into those departments.
“We funded police and fire right off the bat because we want a safe and clean city,” Caserta said.
The Council’s changes were announced March 22 in the adopted budget. The money the Council put back into fire and police and the raised insurance program costs of $564,000 will contribute to making the budget increase from the proposed 39.54 million to $40.28 million.
Caserta said the City Council and the mayor will be working feverishly up until July 1 on ways to generate revenue to find the money they need to give to the fire and police departments and to avoid as much as possible the layoffs and furloughs in other departments.
“Ultimately, we do not want to cut any services and want to have the ability to actually increase services” Caserta said.
To make those goals possible, Wolfe said his main contingency plan may be to implement a 1 percent occupation tax under the city’s five-year home rule pilot program. If the city were to adopt the 1 percent occupation tax then the city’s $3-per-week user fee would be repealed.
Caserta said the city would abolish the user fee, which is a regressive tax that everyone has to pay and replace it with a fairer way to generate revenue. People who work in the city will pay the 1 percent occupation tax, but it will not affect those who make less than a certain amount and for ones who are retired, he said.
The motor pool and floodwall divisions will likely receive the most in cuts with motor pool having an estimated decrease of $155,596 from its $653,036 proposed budget and floodwall having a cut of $120,345 from its proposed $648,677, according to the City of Huntington.
The City Council is aware that most of the cuts have the possibility of resulting in layoffs in 10 departments and 20-day furloughs for city employees. The Council made sure, however, that the police and fire departments will be exempt from any furloughs or layoffs, Caserta said. Police and fire originally had cuts in the mayor’s proposed budget in February, but the Council decided to put money back into those departments.
“We funded police and fire right off the bat because we want a safe and clean city,” Caserta said.
The Council’s changes were announced March 22 in the adopted budget. The money the Council put back into fire and police and the raised insurance program costs of $564,000 will contribute to making the budget increase from the proposed 39.54 million to $40.28 million.
Caserta said the City Council and the mayor will be working feverishly up until July 1 on ways to generate revenue to find the money they need to give to the fire and police departments and to avoid as much as possible the layoffs and furloughs in other departments.
“Ultimately, we do not want to cut any services and want to have the ability to actually increase services” Caserta said.
To make those goals possible, Wolfe said his main contingency plan may be to implement a 1 percent occupation tax under the city’s five-year home rule pilot program. If the city were to adopt the 1 percent occupation tax then the city’s $3-per-week user fee would be repealed.
Caserta said the city would abolish the user fee, which is a regressive tax that everyone has to pay and replace it with a fairer way to generate revenue. People who work in the city will pay the 1 percent occupation tax, but it will not affect those who make less than a certain amount and for ones who are retired, he said.
Proposal for first public meeting
Part of my class in JMC 414 Reporting Public Affairs is to follow a board or commission for the rest of the semester. My assignment is to get to know the people in the organization, research their activities and Web site and go to three of their public meetings. In the beginning of April I will be required to submit a proposal for an investigative story about information I have found out about and through the organization.
In the first class, I chose the Huntington Housing Authority. The board has regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month, plus other various ones.
On Tuesday I will be going to my first meeting at the City Council Chambers for information on housing initiatives in Huntington.
I don’t know exactly what they will be talking about, but something along the lines of the city’s consolidation plan. Mainly the housing authority helps people who can’t afford it, find reasonably priced housing and offers them easy rental contracts.
The board has many different programs that it runs. It has a self-sufficiency program to assist the elderly and families, employment and training to help families enter work, a program to encourage the elderly to remain living in their homes and lastly a recreational program to help their customers live more enjoyably.
The organization also focuses on many other areas of importance like youth, tobacco prevention and art.
In the first class, I chose the Huntington Housing Authority. The board has regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month, plus other various ones.
On Tuesday I will be going to my first meeting at the City Council Chambers for information on housing initiatives in Huntington.
I don’t know exactly what they will be talking about, but something along the lines of the city’s consolidation plan. Mainly the housing authority helps people who can’t afford it, find reasonably priced housing and offers them easy rental contracts.
The board has many different programs that it runs. It has a self-sufficiency program to assist the elderly and families, employment and training to help families enter work, a program to encourage the elderly to remain living in their homes and lastly a recreational program to help their customers live more enjoyably.
The organization also focuses on many other areas of importance like youth, tobacco prevention and art.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Review of second public meeting for Huntington Housing Authority
The second meeting was held Feb. 9. The meeting was started with discussion on finishing up work at the duplex on Tenth Avenue. That structure will be officially finished in March. After that is over, work will begin on the duplex on Artisan Avenue and it should be finished in about three to four months. These structures are public housing, which the Housing Authority will own. They are in high demand and there is always a waiting list for these types of homes.
The next item on the agenda was the installation of sprinkler systems in various structures such as Madison Manor, Riverview East and Fairfield Tower. These installations are all within budget and going well. The work should be finished by March.
The authority had a resolution approving the purchase and installation of windows in three buildings, which are also undergoing courtyard work. It will be a total of 146 windows that will be put in by General Building Supply. The window treatment will cost $46,693.
The biggest thing talked about is the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. It will allow the Housing Authority to be the lead applicant in spending 2.17 million. This is a grant sent by the state to construct 32 new units. The money will buy refurbished or abandoned foreclosed properties for Artisan Height, Artisan Avenue and Seventh Avenue. These units will be for low-income families to privately own, the chronic homeless and for public housing. The Artisan Height and Artisan Avenue structures are under the Project Based Section A, which is to take people off waiting lists and to provide housing for 32 people who didn’t have a place to live before. The funds for the grant need to be spent within three years but the Housing Authority said the funds will be used by the end of 2010.
The Housing Authority talked about increasing the amount of money employees have to give to the Public Employees Retirement System. This is an order from the State of West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board and will be effective July 1. About 75 full-time employees for the Housing Authority are under the Public Employees Retirement System. This increase will cost the authority $152,000. When some people retire the authority wants to switch retirement plans for the people who take their places. Executive Director Bob Dotson suggested a personnel committee be made to aid in looking at different retirement programs and ways of getting around the extra cost.
The last item of business was to approve Maintenance Supervisor Terry Henry going to Greensboro, NC for a training seminar.
For the March meeting, I was unable to attend it because it was during my Law class. The Housing Authority is sending me its minutes of that meeting. I should get them later this week and will write a memo on those minutes when I get them.
The next item on the agenda was the installation of sprinkler systems in various structures such as Madison Manor, Riverview East and Fairfield Tower. These installations are all within budget and going well. The work should be finished by March.
The authority had a resolution approving the purchase and installation of windows in three buildings, which are also undergoing courtyard work. It will be a total of 146 windows that will be put in by General Building Supply. The window treatment will cost $46,693.
The biggest thing talked about is the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. It will allow the Housing Authority to be the lead applicant in spending 2.17 million. This is a grant sent by the state to construct 32 new units. The money will buy refurbished or abandoned foreclosed properties for Artisan Height, Artisan Avenue and Seventh Avenue. These units will be for low-income families to privately own, the chronic homeless and for public housing. The Artisan Height and Artisan Avenue structures are under the Project Based Section A, which is to take people off waiting lists and to provide housing for 32 people who didn’t have a place to live before. The funds for the grant need to be spent within three years but the Housing Authority said the funds will be used by the end of 2010.
The Housing Authority talked about increasing the amount of money employees have to give to the Public Employees Retirement System. This is an order from the State of West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board and will be effective July 1. About 75 full-time employees for the Housing Authority are under the Public Employees Retirement System. This increase will cost the authority $152,000. When some people retire the authority wants to switch retirement plans for the people who take their places. Executive Director Bob Dotson suggested a personnel committee be made to aid in looking at different retirement programs and ways of getting around the extra cost.
The last item of business was to approve Maintenance Supervisor Terry Henry going to Greensboro, NC for a training seminar.
For the March meeting, I was unable to attend it because it was during my Law class. The Housing Authority is sending me its minutes of that meeting. I should get them later this week and will write a memo on those minutes when I get them.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Humane Society of Parkersburg fairs well in Great Recession
When Maryann Hollis took the position of executive director of the Humane Society of Parkersburg in summer 2008, she came with wide dreams and big expectations. She wanted to create new housing for the crematorium, which would be more energy-efficient and more widely open to the public, make a separate housing and adoption area for kittens and have a spay and neuter clinic that was more affordable. The clinic and new crematorium have been started. The society also launched a Volunteer Adoption Coordinator program in 2009, which allows society staff to work one-on-one with families to find the perfect pet. In the midst of the Great Recession, Hollis’ was able to follow through on some of her promises with her ultimate goal being to end pet overpopulation once and for all.
“I would be thrilled to lose my job because every homeless animal had a home,” she said.
The Humane Society of Parkersburg’s mission is to provide animal control and a shelter for homeless cats and dogs for the community. Maximum capacity is 105 animals, but the staff has its hands full usually with more than that. The past year the number of dogs and cats brought in increased from 4,471 to 4,587 or by 2.5 percent because more people were unable to afford pets with job and home loss, Hollis said. However, with that increase more adoptions and rescues have occurred.
It was by the help of people in the community that the society was able to do well in the Great Recession. From 2006 to 2008, total revenue increased by $123,691 or 30.7 percent because the public upped its contributions and grants during that time by $150,258 or 58.4 percent, according to the society’s tax returns from the past three years.
More individuals in the community are stepping up to be providers, Hollis said. “People want to help those who can’t help themselves, like seniors and kids who have animals but just can’t take care of them anymore.”
While total revenue increased, the society still faced some setbacks. In 2006 and 2008, total expenses were higher than total revenue. In 2006, the staff started out with $499,617 in net assets with $59,387 in deficit. Then in 2007 the society’s net assets were $537,661 and it had an excess of $38,044. In 2008 the society dropped its net assets back down to 499,727 and had a deficit of $37,934, according to the tax returns.
Total expenses increased $102,238 or by 22.1 percent from 2006 to 2008 because the cost of daily items needed for the shelter went up and because more animals were brought in. In just summer 2006, an increase of 1,800 animals came into the shelter, according to the Web site.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Future of Investigative Journalism in an Era of Downsizing and Economic Uncertainty
In an era of downsizing and economic uncertainty, investigative journalism is failing in most newsrooms. In history, investigative writing has often been few and far between, and those numbers have further dwindled with shrinking news staffs and cuts in budgets. However, the future may still be bright for investigative stories because of the Internet and the need for the media to continue to be the public’s watchdog.
Even in the most successful years of journalism, reporters rarely had investigative beats. Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele are the longest running investigative team in America and are twice winners of the Pulitzer Prize. In their article in the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, they wrote that before the 1970s, the number of newspapers that had reporters with full-time investigative beats could be counted on one hand. Most journalists were told to work on investigative stories in the little spare time they had between their regular beats, Barlett and Steele said. After the 1970s, investigative beats were seen more often, but editors already weary about investigative pieces are using the excuse of not being able to afford manpower to lengthy projects now.
The reporters who haven’t been forced into early retirements because of this era of economic uncertainty are stretched thin as it is. Journalists have more work to do and a wider area to cover, said the Nieman Watchdog Project’s editor Barry Sussman.
He said when reporters have only one beat, then they can cover it more regularly, get to know the sources better and be more in tune with details about what’s going on. Knowing and being able to cover a subject more in-depth has greater potential to become an investigative story, Sussman said.
Journalists have more to deal with than just extra beats because of economic downsizing of newsrooms. Former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and executive editor for nine years at The Sacramento Bee, Rick Rodriguez, said reporters have to work on expanding their skills to be not only writers, but now photographers and video recorders. Plus, with everything going to the Internet, long-time print journalists also have to learn how to publish and write for the Web, maintain their newspaper’s Web site and adjust to 24/7 Web site news operations, Rodriguez said. All this learning of new skills takes time away from being able to work on investigative stories.
More concentration on the Web also means the medium that has traditionally been in charge of delivering investigative pieces is being neglected. In a panel of Nieman Fellows, two of which won Pulitzer Prizes, agreement was made that newspaper has always been the medium that has had the responsibility of conducting in-depth reports. With more people turning away from getting their news from papers, investigative reporters will have to adjust and find a new outlet.
Fortunately, as the Web becomes a more popular medium to get news and information, it has provided a way for traditional print journalists to participate. Recently, a number of online investigative sites have popped up and expanded. Some examples are the Center for Investigative Reporting and The Center for Public Integrity, Sussman said. A popular site is The Investigative Fund. The site’s writers are dedicated to improving the quality of investigative writing and to increasing the scope of these types of stories, especially ones neglected by other media, according to the Web site. The Investigative Fund was a pilot project in 2004 but has since expanded to include partnerships with the Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Monthly, The Puffin Foundation Ltd., along with many others.
The reason for online investigative Web site success is people still realize the importance of journalists being watchdogs for the public. Without a check on government by the people, then democracy will suffer, Barlett and Steele said. There needs to always be reporters making sure to expose corrupt political officials, find rule violations by businesses and to keep people knowledgeable about the important issues.
The Internet provides numerous ways to make it easier for journalists to cover investigative stories even in this economic era of downsizing. Reporters have access to many government documents and business records that they might have had a harder time getting before. Web sites such as Guidestar and the Federal Election Commission provide tons of information in printable formats.
So, even though investigative journalism already has a poor turnout of stories in history and editors have continued that trend with the excuse of budget cuts today, it will always be in existence. People need investigative journalists for America to keep having a successful democratic government. The Web has taken away from the emphasis put on the newspaper medium, which has traditionally been the main source to deliver investigative stories, but it also provides a better way for reporters to obtain information and bring investigative stories to the public.
Even in the most successful years of journalism, reporters rarely had investigative beats. Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele are the longest running investigative team in America and are twice winners of the Pulitzer Prize. In their article in the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, they wrote that before the 1970s, the number of newspapers that had reporters with full-time investigative beats could be counted on one hand. Most journalists were told to work on investigative stories in the little spare time they had between their regular beats, Barlett and Steele said. After the 1970s, investigative beats were seen more often, but editors already weary about investigative pieces are using the excuse of not being able to afford manpower to lengthy projects now.
The reporters who haven’t been forced into early retirements because of this era of economic uncertainty are stretched thin as it is. Journalists have more work to do and a wider area to cover, said the Nieman Watchdog Project’s editor Barry Sussman.
He said when reporters have only one beat, then they can cover it more regularly, get to know the sources better and be more in tune with details about what’s going on. Knowing and being able to cover a subject more in-depth has greater potential to become an investigative story, Sussman said.
Journalists have more to deal with than just extra beats because of economic downsizing of newsrooms. Former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and executive editor for nine years at The Sacramento Bee, Rick Rodriguez, said reporters have to work on expanding their skills to be not only writers, but now photographers and video recorders. Plus, with everything going to the Internet, long-time print journalists also have to learn how to publish and write for the Web, maintain their newspaper’s Web site and adjust to 24/7 Web site news operations, Rodriguez said. All this learning of new skills takes time away from being able to work on investigative stories.
More concentration on the Web also means the medium that has traditionally been in charge of delivering investigative pieces is being neglected. In a panel of Nieman Fellows, two of which won Pulitzer Prizes, agreement was made that newspaper has always been the medium that has had the responsibility of conducting in-depth reports. With more people turning away from getting their news from papers, investigative reporters will have to adjust and find a new outlet.
Fortunately, as the Web becomes a more popular medium to get news and information, it has provided a way for traditional print journalists to participate. Recently, a number of online investigative sites have popped up and expanded. Some examples are the Center for Investigative Reporting and The Center for Public Integrity, Sussman said. A popular site is The Investigative Fund. The site’s writers are dedicated to improving the quality of investigative writing and to increasing the scope of these types of stories, especially ones neglected by other media, according to the Web site. The Investigative Fund was a pilot project in 2004 but has since expanded to include partnerships with the Columbia Journalism Review, The Washington Monthly, The Puffin Foundation Ltd., along with many others.
The reason for online investigative Web site success is people still realize the importance of journalists being watchdogs for the public. Without a check on government by the people, then democracy will suffer, Barlett and Steele said. There needs to always be reporters making sure to expose corrupt political officials, find rule violations by businesses and to keep people knowledgeable about the important issues.
The Internet provides numerous ways to make it easier for journalists to cover investigative stories even in this economic era of downsizing. Reporters have access to many government documents and business records that they might have had a harder time getting before. Web sites such as Guidestar and the Federal Election Commission provide tons of information in printable formats.
So, even though investigative journalism already has a poor turnout of stories in history and editors have continued that trend with the excuse of budget cuts today, it will always be in existence. People need investigative journalists for America to keep having a successful democratic government. The Web has taken away from the emphasis put on the newspaper medium, which has traditionally been the main source to deliver investigative stories, but it also provides a better way for reporters to obtain information and bring investigative stories to the public.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Proposed Huntington budget story
*Other means all the categories of revenue on the budget list with the exception of the top five sources of revenue.
*Other means all the categories of expenditures on the budget list with the exception of the top five sources of expenditures.
The recommended budget for fiscal year 2011 was introduced by Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe as $39.54 million. It's a reduction of about $5 million from FY 2010’s budget of $44.61 million and is still less from the FY 2009 budget that was a little over $41 million. Delinquent property taxes have gone down a significant number from FY 2009 of $525,000 to about $418,000 for FY 2011. The biggest source of funding in business and occupation tax has gone down $2 million since FY 2009. The other major sources of revenue: Utility tax, city service fee, municipal service fees and property tax current have all gone down, with the exception of the city service fee and municipal service fees. Within these sources, revenue has dropped a little over $2 million since FY 2009.
At the same time, three major areas where the city’s money gets spent have increased. Fire, streets and insurance programs expenses have together gone up half of $1 million since FY 2009. However, police, and contributions and etc. have seen cuts of $486,291.
Wolfe rides on the support of partnerships in State of the City address
In the midst of beginning to feel the effects of the economic recession trickling down from the federal government, Huntington mayor Kim Wolfe focused on the partnerships that have continued to further city growth in his State of the City address on Feb. 13.
To emphasize his point about people working together, Wolfe started with a reform that probably took the most organizations collectively for it to succeed. A first major step to solving Pension Reform was put forth with new pension options.
“This was an issue that had been plaguing our city for 14-plus years,” Wolfe said.
One initiative that has been a part of most of the mayor’s accomplishments this year has been in partnership with the city’s citizens and the Huntington City Council.
The User Fee was increased by a dollar and with it new equipment was purchased for the Street and Traffic Engineering divisions, more than 800,000 worth of streets was paved and six more police officers were hired.
Much of the actions put into place because of the increase in the User Fee have been bolstered by other resources. In addition to the six police officers hired, the Huntington Police Department received 1.6 million in grant funding. This saw a 5.9 percent increase from last year with the number of responses to service calls and the sustainability of the Special Emphasis Unit and K-9 Unit.
To keep up with the work being done on the streets, the Weed and Seed program, in addition to increasing drug arrests and seeing an increase in criminal convictions, have improved the housing community with 21 first-time home buyers, five new homes built and the demolishment of 29 structures. The Technical Housing Unit has also contributed by averaging 129 inspections per month of unsafe structures.
These works and more are in conjunction with the goals of Wolfe’s administration to support a cleaner, safer and more responsive government.
For the upcoming months, the mayor said the task will be to make sure these improvements and others will not be jeopardized because of having to reduce the budget by about 5 million from last year.
“The goal is to ensure that service delivery is not significantly hampered to the citizens,” Wolfe said.
Plans in place to follow through on that statement are to eliminate only some jobs and have rolling 20-day furloughs for city employees. Within the police and fire departments, some civilian positions will be removed and this will cause the level of service from first responders to be affected. Also, vacant city positions will be left unfulfilled and retiring employees will not be replaced.
The mayor was upfront about these initiatives having an effect on the safety of Huntington’s citizens, but he plans on addressing those problems by using same thing he attributes his accomplishments to.
“I am confident in the ability and leadership of the Huntington City Council to work side by side with us to solve these challenges,” Wolfe said.
To emphasize his point about people working together, Wolfe started with a reform that probably took the most organizations collectively for it to succeed. A first major step to solving Pension Reform was put forth with new pension options.
“This was an issue that had been plaguing our city for 14-plus years,” Wolfe said.
One initiative that has been a part of most of the mayor’s accomplishments this year has been in partnership with the city’s citizens and the Huntington City Council.
The User Fee was increased by a dollar and with it new equipment was purchased for the Street and Traffic Engineering divisions, more than 800,000 worth of streets was paved and six more police officers were hired.
Much of the actions put into place because of the increase in the User Fee have been bolstered by other resources. In addition to the six police officers hired, the Huntington Police Department received 1.6 million in grant funding. This saw a 5.9 percent increase from last year with the number of responses to service calls and the sustainability of the Special Emphasis Unit and K-9 Unit.
To keep up with the work being done on the streets, the Weed and Seed program, in addition to increasing drug arrests and seeing an increase in criminal convictions, have improved the housing community with 21 first-time home buyers, five new homes built and the demolishment of 29 structures. The Technical Housing Unit has also contributed by averaging 129 inspections per month of unsafe structures.
These works and more are in conjunction with the goals of Wolfe’s administration to support a cleaner, safer and more responsive government.
For the upcoming months, the mayor said the task will be to make sure these improvements and others will not be jeopardized because of having to reduce the budget by about 5 million from last year.
“The goal is to ensure that service delivery is not significantly hampered to the citizens,” Wolfe said.
Plans in place to follow through on that statement are to eliminate only some jobs and have rolling 20-day furloughs for city employees. Within the police and fire departments, some civilian positions will be removed and this will cause the level of service from first responders to be affected. Also, vacant city positions will be left unfulfilled and retiring employees will not be replaced.
The mayor was upfront about these initiatives having an effect on the safety of Huntington’s citizens, but he plans on addressing those problems by using same thing he attributes his accomplishments to.
“I am confident in the ability and leadership of the Huntington City Council to work side by side with us to solve these challenges,” Wolfe said.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Stark gets citizens involved, makes for better politics overall
One of the main concerns for candidates in the primary elections in May is to be able to raise enough money to stay in the race.
Thomas Fredrick Stark is a Republican running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Democratic leaning 1st District of West Virginia. Stark is unique in that he wants to get the average citizen involved in his campaign initiatives.
“Very seldom do you see candidates taking it to the people,” he said.
Stark’s idea is called Campaign for 20,000. He said he’s soliciting 20,000 citizens from the 1st District to submit any amount of money toward his campaign in hopes it gives the people invested interest in the elections. This way they might vote based on their principles instead of upon public opinion.
If people aren’t committed to the person they are voting for and just going with the flow then candidates are held to a lower standard and can abuse their power, Stark said.
Recently, the Supreme Court denied legislation for lawmakers to reinstate barriers on the amount of campaign spending by corporations and other third party groups.
Stark agreed with the decision because limiting the amount of money people could give to campaigns could hurt the candidate and it could restrict people’s freedom to express their opinion. The integrity of the candidate is the problem that needs to be addressed and when that is fixed, then it wouldn’t matter who was giving money or how much, he said.
In conjunction with his Campaign for 20,000, Stark said he has to rely on other forms of obtaining money because he can’t wait for citizens to take his offer and then it not happen.
So far he has incurred $4,306, which is $2,134 from himself and $2,171 from other individuals. His biggest donors are Steve Keiser, the executive of Christy and Associates who gave $1,000, Dave Harsh, manager from State Farm who gave $250 and Rick Sprigg, self-employed in insurance who gave $500.
Stark currently has $1,932 on hand because he has disbursed $2,373 in travel mileage during October, November and December, all of which he has paid himself. In comparison to his challengers’ finances, Stark is somewhere in the middle. Incumbent Alan Mollohan is a Democrat and has held his seat for 27 years. His debt is $130,000 with $285,552 in disbursements and $64,599 on hand. Republican David McKinley has $100,250 on hand. Another Republican, Mac Warner, has $38,403 on hand and $4,139 in disbursements. The other candidates, Republican Cindy Hall, Republican Patricia VanGilder Levenson and Republican Sarah Minear have $0 in campaign funds so far.
Stark said it’s not exactly a disadvantage to have less money, but it just changes the emphasis of where he is looking to get it. It makes him put more effort in gathering funds compared to candidates who already have a lot. He said raising money takes up about half of his campaign and he does it mostly with personal contacts, mailing letters and following up.
The primary election date for the 1st District is May 11.
Thomas Fredrick Stark is a Republican running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Democratic leaning 1st District of West Virginia. Stark is unique in that he wants to get the average citizen involved in his campaign initiatives.
“Very seldom do you see candidates taking it to the people,” he said.
Stark’s idea is called Campaign for 20,000. He said he’s soliciting 20,000 citizens from the 1st District to submit any amount of money toward his campaign in hopes it gives the people invested interest in the elections. This way they might vote based on their principles instead of upon public opinion.
If people aren’t committed to the person they are voting for and just going with the flow then candidates are held to a lower standard and can abuse their power, Stark said.
Recently, the Supreme Court denied legislation for lawmakers to reinstate barriers on the amount of campaign spending by corporations and other third party groups.
Stark agreed with the decision because limiting the amount of money people could give to campaigns could hurt the candidate and it could restrict people’s freedom to express their opinion. The integrity of the candidate is the problem that needs to be addressed and when that is fixed, then it wouldn’t matter who was giving money or how much, he said.
In conjunction with his Campaign for 20,000, Stark said he has to rely on other forms of obtaining money because he can’t wait for citizens to take his offer and then it not happen.
So far he has incurred $4,306, which is $2,134 from himself and $2,171 from other individuals. His biggest donors are Steve Keiser, the executive of Christy and Associates who gave $1,000, Dave Harsh, manager from State Farm who gave $250 and Rick Sprigg, self-employed in insurance who gave $500.
Stark currently has $1,932 on hand because he has disbursed $2,373 in travel mileage during October, November and December, all of which he has paid himself. In comparison to his challengers’ finances, Stark is somewhere in the middle. Incumbent Alan Mollohan is a Democrat and has held his seat for 27 years. His debt is $130,000 with $285,552 in disbursements and $64,599 on hand. Republican David McKinley has $100,250 on hand. Another Republican, Mac Warner, has $38,403 on hand and $4,139 in disbursements. The other candidates, Republican Cindy Hall, Republican Patricia VanGilder Levenson and Republican Sarah Minear have $0 in campaign funds so far.
Stark said it’s not exactly a disadvantage to have less money, but it just changes the emphasis of where he is looking to get it. It makes him put more effort in gathering funds compared to candidates who already have a lot. He said raising money takes up about half of his campaign and he does it mostly with personal contacts, mailing letters and following up.
The primary election date for the 1st District is May 11.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Update on candidate article
I will be following Republican candidate Thomas Fredrick Stark who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives. I have called the West Virginia Secretary of State to confirm that he is still in the running for office.
So far I have found out his career and education background and his views on main topics such as the economy, health care, marriage and government waste. I have visited Stark's personal Web site and the Federal Election Commission Web site to obtain information.
I have found out he has seven people running against him. Five of those people are Republican and two are Democratic. For some of those candidates I have the amount of their disbursements and receipts and who their contributors are. I also have that information about Stark.
I still have to call Stark and interview him about raising money for his campaign and whether there are conflict of interest issues involving the people who give him money. I also want to ask him about his Campaign for 20,000 idea. This is a unique concept in that Stark is asking for 20,000 individual citizens from the first district to donate to his campaign. Stark is doing this to get the average citizen involved in politics.
So far I have found out his career and education background and his views on main topics such as the economy, health care, marriage and government waste. I have visited Stark's personal Web site and the Federal Election Commission Web site to obtain information.
I have found out he has seven people running against him. Five of those people are Republican and two are Democratic. For some of those candidates I have the amount of their disbursements and receipts and who their contributors are. I also have that information about Stark.
I still have to call Stark and interview him about raising money for his campaign and whether there are conflict of interest issues involving the people who give him money. I also want to ask him about his Campaign for 20,000 idea. This is a unique concept in that Stark is asking for 20,000 individual citizens from the first district to donate to his campaign. Stark is doing this to get the average citizen involved in politics.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Proposal for imaginative investigative news story
To: Professor Morris
From: Emily Ayres
Re: Story Outline: Health South rehabilitation hospital in Huntington, W.Va.
Subject: I want to write an investigative story about the care patients receive in the hospital because it is important to make sure they are clean and healthy, and their families are paying money to have that service.
Scope: I have interviewed student nurses from Marshall University and nurses on staff at the hospital. I have also surveyed some of the patients on the care they have received.
Need: The investigative story is needed because the hospital has a lot of patients and is a successful business. We need to make sure the hospital is providing the service back to the people who are paying it money. HealthSouth also has 25 other locations across the nation, so if there are problems found in Huntington, then there may be other problems elsewhere, and that affects many people.
Methods: I am conducting research using formal face-face interviews with nurses and taking surveys of patients. I will also need to find documents to use as proof in my arguments. They will most likely be expense reports to find out how much the hospital is spending on nursing staff, care products, water and electricity. I would also like to get numbers on the ratio between patients and nurses to see if the hospital is understaffed or overbooked in patients, which are problems that could lead to poor patient care.
Sources: Former and current patients, current nursing staff and Marshall nursing students, plus documents.
Presentation: This investigative story will be going on my blog, but it also has the potential to be going into Marshall University’s school newspaper, The Parthenon.
Follow-up: This story has the potential to lead to a bigger story because HealthSouth has 25 other locations across the U.S. If patients aren’t receiving enough care in Huntington, a bigger investigation may need to be started to check the other places’ level of credibility.
From: Emily Ayres
Re: Story Outline: Health South rehabilitation hospital in Huntington, W.Va.
Subject: I want to write an investigative story about the care patients receive in the hospital because it is important to make sure they are clean and healthy, and their families are paying money to have that service.
Scope: I have interviewed student nurses from Marshall University and nurses on staff at the hospital. I have also surveyed some of the patients on the care they have received.
Need: The investigative story is needed because the hospital has a lot of patients and is a successful business. We need to make sure the hospital is providing the service back to the people who are paying it money. HealthSouth also has 25 other locations across the nation, so if there are problems found in Huntington, then there may be other problems elsewhere, and that affects many people.
Methods: I am conducting research using formal face-face interviews with nurses and taking surveys of patients. I will also need to find documents to use as proof in my arguments. They will most likely be expense reports to find out how much the hospital is spending on nursing staff, care products, water and electricity. I would also like to get numbers on the ratio between patients and nurses to see if the hospital is understaffed or overbooked in patients, which are problems that could lead to poor patient care.
Sources: Former and current patients, current nursing staff and Marshall nursing students, plus documents.
Presentation: This investigative story will be going on my blog, but it also has the potential to be going into Marshall University’s school newspaper, The Parthenon.
Follow-up: This story has the potential to lead to a bigger story because HealthSouth has 25 other locations across the U.S. If patients aren’t receiving enough care in Huntington, a bigger investigation may need to be started to check the other places’ level of credibility.
Chapter 1, Class Assignment 1
I chose an investigative story written by a CBS reporter. It's about how representatives from the House and Senate, along with their family members, a doctor and a photographer traveled to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in Denmark. They totaled up a bill that cost in the millions in hotel room prices, food and luxury jets. The bad part of it is, tax payers are paying for all that. At the same time, too, no global deal was reached.
My story is investigative because it reveals information that people would not have known unless they read the congressional expense reports and did their own digging. The story also provided information that people were trying to keep hidden, as seen by the sources being difficult about giving information about it. The story also exposes a waste of tax money.
The reporter gives the target of the investigation a chance to state what happened when Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is interviewed. He went to the summit last year, too, so he is a pretty knowledgeable source from the other side. He is quoted in paragraph five. Also, house speaker Nancy Pelosi was given a chance to defend herself but refused. Her office gave a statement, though, which was written in paragraph seven.
The reporter uses the congressional expense reports recently filed for a key document.
A graphic of the report of expenditures for official foreign travel,two videos and a list of all attendees, accompany the article. They aid the reader by letting them see just how many people went to the summit and used tax payers' money to do that.
The representatives used tax payer money to go to the summit so any tax payer of the U.S. would be interested to read this story.
The article and the headlines are very concise. They are not shrill or frantic. One headline is, Congress went to Denmark, you got the bill.
The reporter probably got the idea from the recent summit event or just a planned project idea to check up on congressional spending.
link to the story is:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/25/cbsnews_investigates/main6140406.shtml?tag=latest
My story is investigative because it reveals information that people would not have known unless they read the congressional expense reports and did their own digging. The story also provided information that people were trying to keep hidden, as seen by the sources being difficult about giving information about it. The story also exposes a waste of tax money.
The reporter gives the target of the investigation a chance to state what happened when Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is interviewed. He went to the summit last year, too, so he is a pretty knowledgeable source from the other side. He is quoted in paragraph five. Also, house speaker Nancy Pelosi was given a chance to defend herself but refused. Her office gave a statement, though, which was written in paragraph seven.
The reporter uses the congressional expense reports recently filed for a key document.
A graphic of the report of expenditures for official foreign travel,two videos and a list of all attendees, accompany the article. They aid the reader by letting them see just how many people went to the summit and used tax payers' money to do that.
The representatives used tax payer money to go to the summit so any tax payer of the U.S. would be interested to read this story.
The article and the headlines are very concise. They are not shrill or frantic. One headline is, Congress went to Denmark, you got the bill.
The reporter probably got the idea from the recent summit event or just a planned project idea to check up on congressional spending.
link to the story is:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/25/cbsnews_investigates/main6140406.shtml?tag=latest
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Review of first public meeting for Huntington Housing Authority
The Huntington Housing Authority, as well as other organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, met Wednesday in the city council chambers. The course of action was to talk about the five year plans for these organizations and if they were consistent with the city's consolidated plan.
For most of the meeting, the topic was focusing on big issues the organizations were facing. William Dotson from the Huntington Housing Authority proposed triple A housing, meaning adequate, affordable and available. It was stressed that there needed to be more descent, affordable housing available.
The number of sold homes going down was also brought up. Up until 2009, 20 to 25 homes were being sold each year. However, last year only saw seven houses sold and the projected number is even lower for this year. The housing authority plans to build six single family homes but didn't want to start until buyers were found. So far, no buyers have been found, so the authority will continue and lease without buyers. The area where this construction is happening is Artison and 10th Avenues. This area has had trouble finding homeowners but isn't the only one having problems. Apparently no one wants to buy a house right now because the market is so bad.
At the same time, there is no problem finding people who want to rent. A waiting list has 1,600 people on it and a lot want one bedroom places. The demand for rented places has increased, but there are still problems within that area. Sometimes the housing organizations don't have enough money to pay developers to build the apartments because the low rental prices. But on the other hand, if the rents are raised than the people cannot afford the houses.
Another problem that needs to be addressed is that people aren't being properly counseled on finance for home buying or renting. The organizations thought it would be a good idea if schools had classes to teach their students in those areas. They wanted students equipped with this information before they graduated high school. Adding to this, the people in the meeting thought banks should reach out more in the community and help to teach people about finance.
Another problem is vacant dilapidated housing. A lot of people hold onto houses because they have family history in those places, but yet don't have the money for upkeep. Pretty soon those houses get too old and decrepit for living and they are disregarded and can't be used. The organization's are aware of this and want to stop it but don't know exactly how. They don't have enough money to tear down the houses and make new ones.
Housing services and not just the houses are paramount as well. People who don't have means of a car or other vehicle, need to have grocery stores and other shops close by their living quarters. If not, then they have to spend money to get to those places and then they don't have enough money to pay rent. Also, the mentally ill only have a little haven to go to, but that doesn't serve the need of the ones who aren't included in that area. There is a big waiting list of mentally ill looking for a place to go where they can be taken care of properly. The aging population also needs help. They need support to upkeep their houses and support for their daily life.
For most of the meeting, the topic was focusing on big issues the organizations were facing. William Dotson from the Huntington Housing Authority proposed triple A housing, meaning adequate, affordable and available. It was stressed that there needed to be more descent, affordable housing available.
The number of sold homes going down was also brought up. Up until 2009, 20 to 25 homes were being sold each year. However, last year only saw seven houses sold and the projected number is even lower for this year. The housing authority plans to build six single family homes but didn't want to start until buyers were found. So far, no buyers have been found, so the authority will continue and lease without buyers. The area where this construction is happening is Artison and 10th Avenues. This area has had trouble finding homeowners but isn't the only one having problems. Apparently no one wants to buy a house right now because the market is so bad.
At the same time, there is no problem finding people who want to rent. A waiting list has 1,600 people on it and a lot want one bedroom places. The demand for rented places has increased, but there are still problems within that area. Sometimes the housing organizations don't have enough money to pay developers to build the apartments because the low rental prices. But on the other hand, if the rents are raised than the people cannot afford the houses.
Another problem that needs to be addressed is that people aren't being properly counseled on finance for home buying or renting. The organizations thought it would be a good idea if schools had classes to teach their students in those areas. They wanted students equipped with this information before they graduated high school. Adding to this, the people in the meeting thought banks should reach out more in the community and help to teach people about finance.
Another problem is vacant dilapidated housing. A lot of people hold onto houses because they have family history in those places, but yet don't have the money for upkeep. Pretty soon those houses get too old and decrepit for living and they are disregarded and can't be used. The organization's are aware of this and want to stop it but don't know exactly how. They don't have enough money to tear down the houses and make new ones.
Housing services and not just the houses are paramount as well. People who don't have means of a car or other vehicle, need to have grocery stores and other shops close by their living quarters. If not, then they have to spend money to get to those places and then they don't have enough money to pay rent. Also, the mentally ill only have a little haven to go to, but that doesn't serve the need of the ones who aren't included in that area. There is a big waiting list of mentally ill looking for a place to go where they can be taken care of properly. The aging population also needs help. They need support to upkeep their houses and support for their daily life.
Review of President Barack Obama's State of the Union
My predictions about President Barack Obama's State of the Union address were right and wrong. I said he would focus on domestic issues like health care and the economic recession because these were the major concerns of the people. He did talk about health care, but it was only for a short time. He made it clear that he was going to back reform, but he did not clearly specify his exact plans.
In the beginning of his address he talked at length about the economy and supporting small businesses. He talked about tax cuts for middle-class families and putting America back to work building U.S. infrastructure and clean energy facilities. I knew he was going to address the economy, but I thought he would be talking more about education and clean energy than he did.
Obama used the last half of his speech to talk about the war and bi-partisan politics. I didn't really think he would be giving as much time as he did to talking about the war. It just seemed to me that the people cared more about unemployment and the health care bill, than foreign affairs. However, I'm glad he did talk about the war because it is still a very big concern and needs to be addressed. I was also glad to hear about bi-partisan politics because that's the only way any of the plans that Obama mentioned in his address, are going to get carried out.
In the beginning of his address he talked at length about the economy and supporting small businesses. He talked about tax cuts for middle-class families and putting America back to work building U.S. infrastructure and clean energy facilities. I knew he was going to address the economy, but I thought he would be talking more about education and clean energy than he did.
Obama used the last half of his speech to talk about the war and bi-partisan politics. I didn't really think he would be giving as much time as he did to talking about the war. It just seemed to me that the people cared more about unemployment and the health care bill, than foreign affairs. However, I'm glad he did talk about the war because it is still a very big concern and needs to be addressed. I was also glad to hear about bi-partisan politics because that's the only way any of the plans that Obama mentioned in his address, are going to get carried out.
Huntington city budget
After looking at the proposed 2009/2010 budgets for the city of Huntington, which has a population of 49,185 people and size in area of 15.9 square miles, total revenue was around $19,964,169 for 2009 and $39,990,304 for 2010. Expenditure estimates were $19,601,420 for 2009 and $38,919,497 for 2010. The business and occupation tax, property tax current and the municipal service fees are the sources where the city gets most of its revenue from. At the same time, the police, fire and insurance programs take most of the money in expenditures.
Regarding the most recent story on the Huntington city budget, the Herald-Dispatch posted an article titled "Budget concerns loom over session" on Jan. 10 2010. The article was about the legislature's session starting Jan. 13, 2009. On legislatures' minds will be the 3.4 percent cut from the general revenue budgets this year. This is in addition to the 197 million budget cut for 2010 as well. These cuts will lead to a five percent reduction in spending for 2010 overall. Federal stimulus dollars will cover some of these cuts, but the only stipulation is they have to be spent by 2011. Legislatures will have to think of ways to cover these tremendous cuts in the budget. One option is to dip into the state's rainy day fund.
Regarding the most recent story on the Huntington city budget, the Herald-Dispatch posted an article titled "Budget concerns loom over session" on Jan. 10 2010. The article was about the legislature's session starting Jan. 13, 2009. On legislatures' minds will be the 3.4 percent cut from the general revenue budgets this year. This is in addition to the 197 million budget cut for 2010 as well. These cuts will lead to a five percent reduction in spending for 2010 overall. Federal stimulus dollars will cover some of these cuts, but the only stipulation is they have to be spent by 2011. Legislatures will have to think of ways to cover these tremendous cuts in the budget. One option is to dip into the state's rainy day fund.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Memo for first public meeting
Part of my class in JMC 414 Reporting Public Affairs is to follow a board or commission for the rest of the semester. My assignment is to get to know the people in the organization, research their activities and Web site and go to three of their public meetings. In the beginning of April, I will be required to submit a proposal for an investigative story about information I have found out about and through the organization.
In the first class, I chose the Huntington Housing Authority. The board has regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month, plus other various ones.
On Tuesday I will be going to my first meeting at the City Council Chambers for information on housing initiatives in Huntington.
I don’t know exactly what they will be talking about, but something along the lines of the city’s consolidation plan. Mainly the housing authority helps people who can’t afford it find reasonably priced housing and offers easy rental contracts.
The board has many different programs that it runs. It has a self-sufficiency program to assist the elderly and families, employment and training to help families enter work, a program to encourage the elderly to remain living in their homes and finally a recreational program to help their customers live more enjoyably. The organization also focuses on many other areas of importance like youth, tobacco prevention and art.
In the first class, I chose the Huntington Housing Authority. The board has regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month, plus other various ones.
On Tuesday I will be going to my first meeting at the City Council Chambers for information on housing initiatives in Huntington.
I don’t know exactly what they will be talking about, but something along the lines of the city’s consolidation plan. Mainly the housing authority helps people who can’t afford it find reasonably priced housing and offers easy rental contracts.
The board has many different programs that it runs. It has a self-sufficiency program to assist the elderly and families, employment and training to help families enter work, a program to encourage the elderly to remain living in their homes and finally a recreational program to help their customers live more enjoyably. The organization also focuses on many other areas of importance like youth, tobacco prevention and art.
President Kopp's response to Gov. Joe Manchin's SOS
President Kopp begins by addressing the actions of the governor during this recession. He said the governor has taken a proactive approach to combating the obstacles before him. Instead of instituting government shutdowns or layoffs to balance the budget, he supported new programs like the Boy Scouts new adventure camp around New River Gorge and the Save the Children program encouraged by actress Jennifer Garner.
President Kopp follows the governor's example in his own address and initiatives. Instead of proposing teacher layoffs or salary decreases to combat the mid-year 3.4 percent reduction in State appropriations, he continues to support Marshall's growth. He said the university cannot stay the same and follow the same guidelines that it always has if it wants to continue moving forward. Taking new initiatives in this recession is about becoming better than we already are.
The programs for growth being instituted at Marshall right now are new physical therapy and pharmacy areas of study in the Marshall University School of Medicine. Kopp said these programs should increase enrollment, graduation rates and attract more students to the school. Another initiative is about the endowment-based research program that once fully funded, Marshall's Institute for Interdisciplinary Research will be fully self-sustaining through private proceeds. Finally, the university has a new Sustainability Department, which is in charge of finding ways to cut costs and make the university more efficient and environmentally friendly. So far, there has been conservation of water, reduced food waste because of the no tray rule in the cafeterias and a campus-wide recycling program has been started. Overall, Kopp said this work will save the university approximately $600,000.
President Kopp follows the governor's example in his own address and initiatives. Instead of proposing teacher layoffs or salary decreases to combat the mid-year 3.4 percent reduction in State appropriations, he continues to support Marshall's growth. He said the university cannot stay the same and follow the same guidelines that it always has if it wants to continue moving forward. Taking new initiatives in this recession is about becoming better than we already are.
The programs for growth being instituted at Marshall right now are new physical therapy and pharmacy areas of study in the Marshall University School of Medicine. Kopp said these programs should increase enrollment, graduation rates and attract more students to the school. Another initiative is about the endowment-based research program that once fully funded, Marshall's Institute for Interdisciplinary Research will be fully self-sustaining through private proceeds. Finally, the university has a new Sustainability Department, which is in charge of finding ways to cut costs and make the university more efficient and environmentally friendly. So far, there has been conservation of water, reduced food waste because of the no tray rule in the cafeterias and a campus-wide recycling program has been started. Overall, Kopp said this work will save the university approximately $600,000.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Predicting President Barack Obama's State of the Union address
For his State of the Union address on Wednesday, President Barack Obama will most likely be talking about domestic concerns like the debate on health care and the economic recession.
President Barack Obama has made many speeches and proclamations since he has been in office and, based off three of those speeches, he is passionate about the same views that past presidents have been about. These past presidents who were in similar times of war and economic ups and downs that Obama is in now are John F. Kennedy with Vietnam and the Cold War, Herbert Hoover with the Great Depression, and Franklin Roosevelt in the midst of World War II and the Great Depression.
Kennedy in his State of the Union address on Jan. 11, 1962 and Hoover in his address Dec. 8, 1931 both aimed to make America successful again in those difficult times by focusing on the domestic issues. Even when American troops were involved in wars around the rest of the globe and in Hoover’s case, the world faced a depression, both presidents realized that to fix these world-wide problems, the issues of Americans had to be settled first.
Kennedy said, “For our nation is commissioned by history to be either an observer of freedom’s failure or the cause of its success.” America had to be well-off first before they could worry about how to take care of the rest of the world’s biggest issues.
Franklin Roosevelt started America’s theme of being responsible for the rest of the world and for a need to worry about the big picture, when he united the Allies in his State of the Union address on Jan. 6, 1942. He made Americans want freedom not just for themselves but for the rest of the world as well.
One foundation of freedom is democracy and Kennedy’s and Hoover’s speeches addressed those issues that are directly part of democracy. Those issues are to support the individual and the private institutions from being encroached upon by the federal government. Kennedy said, “The dynamic of democracy is the power and purpose of the individual.”
In Obama’s previous speeches he calls on these same issues as well. During an address before a joint session of congress on Feb. 24, 2009, Obama alludes to the bold actions and big decisions past presidents had to make in “moments of economic upheaval and transformation.” He said these actions involved the government building up private enterprise and helping individuals to create a stronger economy that people could have confidence in.
In one of Obama’s recent addressees on Dec. 10, 2009 for the speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, his theme was peace. He said peace required responsible actions and that “only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.”
These words from the previous Nobel Peace Prize address, based off the similarity they have to the past speeches of Kennedy, Hoover and Roosevelt, prove that Obama will mostly focus on domestic issues, most pertaining to individual rights and private institutions to create confidence in the economy.
To instill confidence in the people, Obama must address the issues that are most important to the individual. According to The Huffington Post and the U.S. World News Web site, usnews.com, the people are most worried about health care and jobs.
Most likely Obama will outline direct answers to these problems and other domestic issues concerning the stability of banks, cleaner energy use and education. In his Feb. 24 address, Obama said he would focus on these long-term issues to remake America and get the economy settled back on track once and for all.
President Barack Obama has made many speeches and proclamations since he has been in office and, based off three of those speeches, he is passionate about the same views that past presidents have been about. These past presidents who were in similar times of war and economic ups and downs that Obama is in now are John F. Kennedy with Vietnam and the Cold War, Herbert Hoover with the Great Depression, and Franklin Roosevelt in the midst of World War II and the Great Depression.
Kennedy in his State of the Union address on Jan. 11, 1962 and Hoover in his address Dec. 8, 1931 both aimed to make America successful again in those difficult times by focusing on the domestic issues. Even when American troops were involved in wars around the rest of the globe and in Hoover’s case, the world faced a depression, both presidents realized that to fix these world-wide problems, the issues of Americans had to be settled first.
Kennedy said, “For our nation is commissioned by history to be either an observer of freedom’s failure or the cause of its success.” America had to be well-off first before they could worry about how to take care of the rest of the world’s biggest issues.
Franklin Roosevelt started America’s theme of being responsible for the rest of the world and for a need to worry about the big picture, when he united the Allies in his State of the Union address on Jan. 6, 1942. He made Americans want freedom not just for themselves but for the rest of the world as well.
One foundation of freedom is democracy and Kennedy’s and Hoover’s speeches addressed those issues that are directly part of democracy. Those issues are to support the individual and the private institutions from being encroached upon by the federal government. Kennedy said, “The dynamic of democracy is the power and purpose of the individual.”
In Obama’s previous speeches he calls on these same issues as well. During an address before a joint session of congress on Feb. 24, 2009, Obama alludes to the bold actions and big decisions past presidents had to make in “moments of economic upheaval and transformation.” He said these actions involved the government building up private enterprise and helping individuals to create a stronger economy that people could have confidence in.
In one of Obama’s recent addressees on Dec. 10, 2009 for the speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, his theme was peace. He said peace required responsible actions and that “only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.”
These words from the previous Nobel Peace Prize address, based off the similarity they have to the past speeches of Kennedy, Hoover and Roosevelt, prove that Obama will mostly focus on domestic issues, most pertaining to individual rights and private institutions to create confidence in the economy.
To instill confidence in the people, Obama must address the issues that are most important to the individual. According to The Huffington Post and the U.S. World News Web site, usnews.com, the people are most worried about health care and jobs.
Most likely Obama will outline direct answers to these problems and other domestic issues concerning the stability of banks, cleaner energy use and education. In his Feb. 24 address, Obama said he would focus on these long-term issues to remake America and get the economy settled back on track once and for all.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Research of past presidents similar to Barack Obama
I have an upcoming assignment to predict the themes of Barack Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address. In light of that objective, I researched speeches from three previous presidents who were in similar circumstances to the ones Obama finds himself in today.
Franklin Roosevelt had to deal with World War II and the Great Depression during his time in office and made a powerful State of the Union address in 1942. His speech lasted about 30 to 40 minutes and was 3,511 words. His main theme in the address was to become united in war. He doesn’t make it just about America but for all people to be freed from the evil of the Axis powers. In one part of the speech he said, “The militarists of Berlin and Tokyo started this war. But the massed, angered forces of common humanity will finish it.” He makes the war a battle between good and evil. His words are forceful and he leaves no room for doubt that America and the rest of the nations supporting the good side will come out victorious. It is not a question of whether the allies will win or not, but when.
John F. Kennedy was in the midst of Vietnam and the Cold War during his time as president. His address to the nation January 11, 1962 was 6,569 words and about an hour long. During that time he talked about encouraging and helping freedom. In his address, JFK looked back to World War II and the suppression of freedom during that time. In his tenure his aim was to build that freedom back up for America and the rest of the world. He stated, “Yet our basic goal remains the same; a peaceful world community of free and independent states — free to choose their own future and their own system, so long as it does not threaten the freedom of others.” He made it clear that to start freedom’s growth, America must first help themselves from their own recession and then encourage others to do the same. Americans were the ones he made responsible for spreading freedom and helping it along in other nations. In his address he said, “For our nation is commissioned by history to be either an observer of freedom or the cause of its success.”
Another president that had troubles to fix while in office is Herbert Hoover. In his December 8, 1931 address to the union that was 5,682 words and about 50 minutes long, Hoover focuses on the domestic needs of the nation during the Great Depression. His main objectives are to keep the federal government from gaining economic influence and to uphold the power of local governments and individuals. He believed that when the nation’s emergencies could be solved, then America could lead the rest of the world in picking up the broken pieces and becoming more secure. He said, “A strong America is the highest contribution to world stability.” When America becomes stable, then the rest of the world gains confidence to become better.
Franklin Roosevelt had to deal with World War II and the Great Depression during his time in office and made a powerful State of the Union address in 1942. His speech lasted about 30 to 40 minutes and was 3,511 words. His main theme in the address was to become united in war. He doesn’t make it just about America but for all people to be freed from the evil of the Axis powers. In one part of the speech he said, “The militarists of Berlin and Tokyo started this war. But the massed, angered forces of common humanity will finish it.” He makes the war a battle between good and evil. His words are forceful and he leaves no room for doubt that America and the rest of the nations supporting the good side will come out victorious. It is not a question of whether the allies will win or not, but when.
John F. Kennedy was in the midst of Vietnam and the Cold War during his time as president. His address to the nation January 11, 1962 was 6,569 words and about an hour long. During that time he talked about encouraging and helping freedom. In his address, JFK looked back to World War II and the suppression of freedom during that time. In his tenure his aim was to build that freedom back up for America and the rest of the world. He stated, “Yet our basic goal remains the same; a peaceful world community of free and independent states — free to choose their own future and their own system, so long as it does not threaten the freedom of others.” He made it clear that to start freedom’s growth, America must first help themselves from their own recession and then encourage others to do the same. Americans were the ones he made responsible for spreading freedom and helping it along in other nations. In his address he said, “For our nation is commissioned by history to be either an observer of freedom or the cause of its success.”
Another president that had troubles to fix while in office is Herbert Hoover. In his December 8, 1931 address to the union that was 5,682 words and about 50 minutes long, Hoover focuses on the domestic needs of the nation during the Great Depression. His main objectives are to keep the federal government from gaining economic influence and to uphold the power of local governments and individuals. He believed that when the nation’s emergencies could be solved, then America could lead the rest of the world in picking up the broken pieces and becoming more secure. He said, “A strong America is the highest contribution to world stability.” When America becomes stable, then the rest of the world gains confidence to become better.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Gov. Joe Manchin III state of state address: Killing two birds with one stone
Since his first state of the state address in 2005 to his recent address Wednesday, Gov. Joe Manchin III has been bird hunting.
His goals from the start have been about joining two ideas for maximum improvement to the state. He has been killing two birds with one stone. In 2005 Manchin started well and showed he had good experience in the game. He stated five promises he would make to West Virginia children. These promises would aim to improve health, safety, environment and adult care of the state’s younger generations and by doing so, would help to create a viable work force for West Virginia’s future.
In the following years the governor started many initiatives in various areas to fulfill his promises. He has expanded children’s health care by providing health screenings for kindergartners and announced in his recent address the Children’s Health Insurance Project covers almost every child in West Virginia. He has also worked to protect children’s parents by taking measures on mine safety with more than 300 rescue chambers and installing additional technology for tracking communication during accidents. Environments that harbor illegal drugs are also being targeted in Operation Addiction and cities will be fined for areas not being kept up to standard.
These initiatives have been slowly added upon since 2005 and most have produced very successful results, one example being a record low of mine fatalities last year.
As the children grow older the governor has continued work to put 90 programs into community and technical colleges to train students to be able to go right into the workforce. However, the killing two birds with one stone idea stops there. Enrollment has increased in the schools and 2008 saw the highest number of West Virginians working according to his 2008 address. However, graduation rates are at an all time low. The governor stated in his recent address that the “United States and Germany are the only western democracies in which parents are more likely to have earned a college degree than their children” and only 16 in 100 ninth graders in West Virginia will graduate high school.
The governor’s plan is to increase graduation rate by freezing college tuition rates for the coming school year. However, this is happening at the same time that he is taking a 3.4 cut on school’s budgets. It seems the governor is not doing a good job at hunting this time around. To keep graduates in school the education has to be high quality and that is not what the governor is getting in these initiatives. All he is doing is cutting the money that goes to schools and he is centralizing the schools by making these broad rules over them.
West Virginia senator Pat McGeehan in The Review said that schools in West Virginia actually need to be decentralized to increase the quality of education and keep good teachers. It also hurts that teachers are not getting annual salary raises this year and are only being provided annual employee increments.
While thinking through the early years of children and all its factors it involves, the governor has failed to apply that complexity to the needs of West Virginia’s older children. The governor has provided programs for the schools to offer job training but the lack of student interest to stay in the schools needs to be addressed.
His goals from the start have been about joining two ideas for maximum improvement to the state. He has been killing two birds with one stone. In 2005 Manchin started well and showed he had good experience in the game. He stated five promises he would make to West Virginia children. These promises would aim to improve health, safety, environment and adult care of the state’s younger generations and by doing so, would help to create a viable work force for West Virginia’s future.
In the following years the governor started many initiatives in various areas to fulfill his promises. He has expanded children’s health care by providing health screenings for kindergartners and announced in his recent address the Children’s Health Insurance Project covers almost every child in West Virginia. He has also worked to protect children’s parents by taking measures on mine safety with more than 300 rescue chambers and installing additional technology for tracking communication during accidents. Environments that harbor illegal drugs are also being targeted in Operation Addiction and cities will be fined for areas not being kept up to standard.
These initiatives have been slowly added upon since 2005 and most have produced very successful results, one example being a record low of mine fatalities last year.
As the children grow older the governor has continued work to put 90 programs into community and technical colleges to train students to be able to go right into the workforce. However, the killing two birds with one stone idea stops there. Enrollment has increased in the schools and 2008 saw the highest number of West Virginians working according to his 2008 address. However, graduation rates are at an all time low. The governor stated in his recent address that the “United States and Germany are the only western democracies in which parents are more likely to have earned a college degree than their children” and only 16 in 100 ninth graders in West Virginia will graduate high school.
The governor’s plan is to increase graduation rate by freezing college tuition rates for the coming school year. However, this is happening at the same time that he is taking a 3.4 cut on school’s budgets. It seems the governor is not doing a good job at hunting this time around. To keep graduates in school the education has to be high quality and that is not what the governor is getting in these initiatives. All he is doing is cutting the money that goes to schools and he is centralizing the schools by making these broad rules over them.
West Virginia senator Pat McGeehan in The Review said that schools in West Virginia actually need to be decentralized to increase the quality of education and keep good teachers. It also hurts that teachers are not getting annual salary raises this year and are only being provided annual employee increments.
While thinking through the early years of children and all its factors it involves, the governor has failed to apply that complexity to the needs of West Virginia’s older children. The governor has provided programs for the schools to offer job training but the lack of student interest to stay in the schools needs to be addressed.
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